Standing firm in your belief system can be trying. When the world around you is succumbing to a revolving door of trends, it takes dedication to stick to your guns and keep your feet planted. Bobby Bishop fell in love with hip-hop as a child. Raised in a quiet Boston suburb, it took some digging around and frequent trips to the city to wrap his head around the passion he heard from the mouths of his favorite emcees. As he grew, he realized his desire to participate, and share his own thoughts and convictions through rap. Authenticity is a funny thing, however. In all reality, typical hip-hop topics weren't exactly a vibrant picture of the life he'd experienced growing up. With the need to follow his own conviction, Bobby began serving teenagers as a youth minister in gritty Lynn, Massachusetts in 1996, and has been there ever since. He began writing and recording rap music as a teenager himself, and the fusion of his faith in God and a passion for rap was a natural one. He realized his experience as a youth mentor and minister gave him the opportunity to reach out using hip-hop, particularly as he discovered his knack for storytelling. A church plant ensued in 2001, with the vision of pursuing a neglected city, and rap demos and independent CD's were penned in conjunction with his community experiences. The determination to stay true to his initial convictions meant deliberately balancing national touring with day-in-and-day-out street ministry. Hip-hop's pioneer's birthed a sound expressing everyday life, struggle, determination, and redemption. Bobby was adamant from the beginning not to forget hip-hop's roots, but to offer the hope of Christ as life's solution.

Amy's Song, the true story of a teenage rape victim, began to unexpectedly set the stage for Bobby's national career, as it gained a tremendous amount of attention and exposure upon its initial release in 2002. Several indy projects and national tours later, and Bobby was offered his first national recording contract. Government Name released into the marketplace in 2005, and Bobby hit the ground running, balancing his local youth ministry with touring the country. Mtv, in particular, took to the record, and placed nearly the entire project into rotation on some of the network's most popular shows (Pimp My Ride, Next, My Super Sweet Sixteen, Date My Mom, and more).

One Shot, Bobby's second nationally distributed project, was released into the marketplace in 2006. Presented as a rap "hip-hopera," this project tells a fictional story based on true events that took place in Bobby's neighborhood, and is a start-to-finish musical story with a startling conclusion. Bobby's new label home, Philadelphia-based Chosen Records, has brought this project to the screen in the video, One Shot. Utilizing this short film, Bobby and labe lmates The Wrecking, have been traveling the country as The One Shot Tour.

Bobby's goal is to bring a music ministry presentation with heart, on the strength of community service and countless hours of stage experience. The aim is to be approachable and real, and to continue making honest, Christ-centered music.

Resume:

-Years of youth ministry fused with hip-hop tours have resulted in trust-relationships with youth pastors across the country, where Bobby has been the key-speaker in conjunction with the music act.

-Bobby has several independent and two previously released national projects that formally introduced him to a broad marketplace.

-National tours with The Seven Project, spot dates, festivals and tours nationally, shared stages with countless Christian music artists (from John Reuben to Jars of Clay?.)

-Authored for American Bible Society, FEED Magazine, CMCentral, On Course, and more.

-Recorded songs with KJ-52, Pigeon John, and more.

-Featured on multiple nationally distributed projects including:

DJ Maj The Ringleader (Gotee Records/EMI)

Beatmart Records Best of the Submissions Volumes 1,2&3 (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Pee Wee Callins Street Soul (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Fresh Digress (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Strength in Numbers (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Michael Sweet "Stronger" (2003)


"Bobby is catchy, smart, relevant, and can lay down thoughtful
lyrics and still he is able to keep that street tenacity."
-The Phantom Tollbooth

"... an eclectic mix ... delivered with authenticity and passion."
-CCM Magazine Paul Colman's "One's To Watch"

"Artists such as.. Bobby Bishop are now some of the most
buzzed-about names in Christian hip-hop."
-CCM Magazine "Plain White Rapper"

Featured in CCM Magazine's "Rap Sheet: 65 Hip-Hop Artists You
Should Know"

49 in the 2007 "My CCM 100" 2007

"By the time we got home we were on track four and the (Bobby
Bishop) CD disappeared into the house with my son. I've seen it once
since then but I've heard it several times coming from his room!
Bobby Bishop reached my kid with this CD and that was no small feat."
-Kim Jones, Christian Music Guide, About.com

"...he has quickly become a household name and a fan favorite."
-sphereofhiphop.com

"...impressive"
-All Music Guide

"A lot of Bishop's heart shines through these songs, as does his
genuine love for the genre and his desire for its standards to be
upgraded."
-Suite 101.com

"Bobby has talent as an MC; he owns a respectable flow, a keen
lyrical ability, and the comprehension of how to put a good song
together."
-Rapreviews.com